The Philippine government on Monday said Macao authorities discharged a Filipino family quarantined last week in the Chinese territory after clearing them of influenza A/H1N1 infection.

"The Filipino couple with their three children who were quarantined for suspected A/H1N1 influenza were tested negative ofthe virus and were discharged following the completion of the seven-day quarantine period given to them," the Department of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.

The family was ordered quarantined by Macao officials after they were found having close contact with a confirmed influenza A/H1N1 patient.

Meanwhile, in the Philippines, 10 people are being monitored for the flu virus while the authorities are tracing the close contacts of the two confirmed cases in the country, health officials said.

Philippine health authorities have so far monitored 113 individuals, two of whom - a 10-year-old girl who had traveled to the US and Canada and a 50-year-old woman from Chicago - were tested positive for the flu over the weekend.

The World Health Organization said the flu virus, which originated from North America, has spread to more than 40 countries with over 12,000 confirmed cases and 86 deaths around the globe.

(Xinhua News Agency May 26, 2009)